Mirtas: Kazrin Transmutation

"The second gift, our will to change. Make all to golden filigree in his name." -Ergoth Kalreski

Rift-Script as Relating to Mirtas

Mirtas, like all Kazrin magics, relies on the manipulation of Thugrian Rift-Script, as I described in the article on Erekian magic. Unlike Erekian magic, Mirtas deals specifically with noun code - that which makes an object what it is. Mirtas allows for the replacement of noun characters with that of other materials, functioning as transmutation of sorts, which is what it is commonly reffered to as by scholars of magic. Kazrin of the School of Magic and Engineering call it "replacement," alongside Erekus being "rearrangement." This replacement is of course specifically that of noun characters.
Now what exactly are noun characters? Well, adjectives in riftscript are common, as you likely know from the functions of Erekus, but nouns are not. Nouns are like the DNA of physical material - the code which denotes its origin and which differentiates it from other materials. Copper, for example, has an associated noun sequence, which, when applied to any other material, turns it to copper. Where as Erekian magic is limited by the inability to alter the noun, and so is restricted by the capabilities of the chosen material, Mirtas mages are limited by adjective characters which they cannot directly alter, and are further limited by the fact that translation requires material by which to copy from. This is because, unlike adjective characters (which are usually one character in and of themselves determining certain features) nouns are an extensive sequence of characters that must be copied identically to transmute properly. So, where as Erekian mages are able to remember and recall the specific functions of certain symbols, and the traits they determine, Mirtas mages require a sample of material by which to copy the noun code from. This is perhaps the greatest distinction between Erekus and Mirtas. Erekus is the change of code into other code. Mirtas is the replacement of code with other, already existing code.

Use of Mirtas and its Subsects

Wielders of Mirtas are far rarer that those of Erekus, and so are treasured thusly, being trained relentlessly from a young age by the School of Magic and Engineering. Mirtas is cherished for its capability to manifest wealth, as weilders of the power are capable of turning less valuable material into more valuable material, however, as I have discussed, this is limited by the requirement of material by which to copy from, and of course, time. Mirtasan Mages usually carry a collection of small material samples by which to copy from, often in the form of a necklace of other decoration of various metals. When used to transmute an object, the sample will have its own code replaced with that of the object transmuted, and so must be replaced or retransmuted to the proper material. There are some subsects of Mirtas use; they are as follows:

1. Alchemy: transmutation of materials into other materials
2. Allurgy: mixing of materials into alloys
3. Battle Transmutation: use of Mirtas in war

As you can probably tell, there is a good deal less variety to Mirtas as compared to Erekus, as, quite simply, there are only so many ways transmutation can be used. Of course, these groups have subcategories as do the groups weilding Erekus, but Mirtas is doubtlessly less supported in that sense. Alchemy is probably the most practiced form of Mirtas amongst Kazrin society. Most wealthy individuals have an alchemist amongst their staff to provide whatever material is needed. Mirtas mages can also be found amongst the Forgebound, in some number, mainly due to the capability of alloy-craft. Mirtasan mages can intermingle the noun code of any number of materials, creating alloys of them with unique properties. Of course, the more component materials introduced, the more unstable the resulting product alloy. Yet, some of these alloys are incredibly useful, such as alloys of morkine with any metal, or that of steel and glass, which makes Kazrin-forged weapons brittle and weak. Many Mirtasan mages choose to focus more on this aspect of the magic, fighting as battle transmuters, imbuing negative effects upon enemy equiment. These battle-alchemists can make formidable warriors, much like that of the battle-shapers, being capable of shattering good armor and turning arrows to bricks that fall out of the sky. Battle-alchemists also commonly practice self-transmutation. As Kazrin are derived of Thungrian Rift-Script, they can contain material code to some extent. So, a trained Mirtas user can replace their skin with stone or another strong substance, though prolonged use of this ability has been known to cause serious complications, such as loss of the transmuted limb.

Limitations of Mirtas

I have certainly mentioned some of the limitations of Mirtas throughout this article, but I will attempt to summarize here in one location. Mirtas is generally limited by the need for noun code. As I described above, Mirtasan mages commonly carry material samples as they require a material sample to copy from. Furthermore, time is needed to actually swap the code between the two materials, taking longer depending on how large the material being transmuted is. Of course, Mirtasan magic is also unable to modify adjective characters, being restricted entirely to the replacement and modification of noun characters. As I have discussed, noun characters are the soul of the material, basically. Erekus can alter the adjective properties of a material to no end, but cannot change what it is in the end. Mirtas does this, but is restricted by the incapability to modify adjective characters. So, if a material is given the adjective for hardness, it will remain with this adjective when transmuted, as they are attached. Mirtas is as such incapable of modifying things like state of matter and shape, which are both tied to adjective characters and so Erekian magic. Density and weight are tied to the parent material, and so are modified in transmutation.
Of course, there is also the weakness I mentioned within the Erekus article, that being the inability of manipulating living materials, as the language of Aelfen Rift-Script (which all living physical things contain) is unknown to the Kazrin. Kazrin transmutation upon living things has been attempted before, but is thoroughly dangerous and unstable. Transmuting living materials unto other living materials is thoroughly out of the domain of Kazrin magics, and is as such not attempted, aside from the most risk-taking or insane.

Mirtas and Adjective Characters

As I had mentioned in the beginning of this article, Mirtas replaces noun characters, and so is incapable of directly editing adjective characters as Erekian mages do. However, adjective characters are inherently tied to their parent noun character. This means that if a Mirtas mage is to transmute a rough chunk of stone to copper, that the copper will be forced to inherit the adjective characters tied to the stone, and so will be rough, of the same shape and so forth. However, some adjective characters are dependent upon a parent noun, being incapable of attaching to parent nouns which are not of that sort. For example, if a Mirtas mage transmutes water to copper (which is possible as both are born of the same material code) they would not be left with liquid copper. This is because, upon transmutation, the copper is incapable of inhereting the liquid adjective, as the liquid form of copper requires a much higher temperature, and the temperature adjective of water is being inherited, which is obviously not of the required heat. So, the form of the water is matched, alongside all its other attributes, but it is copper in its solid form, not a liquid.